Drinking tube



Mwah 2,1 W3-, H. N. CORRELL 2,072,580

DRINKlNG TUBE Filed Oct. 19, 1933 wwww ILy Q 4 v i mm! lll Patented Mar.2, 1,937

UNITED STATESA 2,072,58o- DRINKING TUBE Henry N. Correll, Spartanburg,S. C., assigner to Oscar B. Wilson, Spartanburg, S. C.

Application October 19, 1933, Serial No. 694,234

2 Claims.

binationrof materials united in a manner to incorporate a. plurality ofgas cells throughout the body of the tube suflicient to render the tubebuoyant in those liquids commonly used `for beverage purposes.

A further object is to provide a sanitary beverage container having adrinking tube that is placed in the container when the latter isoriginally lled and held in place by the cork, crown, or other closureagent, the tub'e having sufficient buoyancy to be propelled through themouth of the container when the closure is removed, the degree ofbuoyancy being increased, in the case of carbonated beverages, by thetendency of the gas bubbles to cling to and cluster around the tube when`the pressure in the container is relieved uponits being opened.

I equipment, such as a stirring device within which the componentmaterials are mixed, and a mold to form the tube,

A further object is to devise a tube of the character indicated whichcan be conveniently inserted in a bottle, for example, during the llingoperation without requiring any, or at the most, very slight changes inexisting bottling equipment, so that the tube is capable of beingintroduced in the bottling industry with a minimum of elfort andexpense.

A further object is to provide a drinking tube formed from awaterproofed paper, as contrasted with the waxed paper commonly used forsipping straws, the paper being waterprooicd either before or during thespinning of the paper on the spindle of a standard type spinningmachine.

A further object is to devise a drinking tube formed by spinning orwrapping a thin strip and a method of making this strip composed of amaterial generally similar to that employed in the manufacture-of amolded tube and which likewise embodies a suilicient number of gas cellsto lnsure buoyancy of lthe tube in a beverage.

A large proportion of the so-called soft drinks are marketed in'bottlesand are presented in this condition directly to the buyer who iscustomarily faced with the choice of either drinking the beveragedirectly from the bottle, or sipping the same through a straw. Either ofthese conditions is characterized by certainunsanitary aspects, sincethe bottles are handled many times, are frequently stored in boxes thatYare exposed to the air and various other undesirable conditions, andare also often packed in natural ice whose degree of purity may bequestionable. Also, the sipping straws are exposed to the air and tofrequent :handling by many-people while selecting a single straw fortheir own use. The economic result of the foregoing situation is thatmany people refrain from purchasing beverages sold undei,l the aboveconditions, so that it is desirable to provide some means that willeliminate these objections by rendering it possible for the consumer toobtain the beverage directly from the bottle without any danger of thebeverage touching the external surface of the bottle, and also withoutany necessity for requiring a separate drinking article, such as a paperor'glass cup which may be likewise exposed to objectionablesurroundings.

It is with the foregoing problem in mind that my improved drinking tubehas been devised One aspect of my invention comprehends the manufactureof. a special form of buoyant drinking tube, such as one made from asuitable molded material, which is initially conditioned to preservethese characteristics indefinitely and also to resist any softeningattack of the tube by the beverage, or the contamination of the latterby the tube. This tube is initially placed in the bottle at the bottlingestablishment and is held in place by the crown or cork which usuallyacts as a closing agent.

When presented to the consumer, the removal of the crown or'cork enablesthe tube to rise upwardly through the neck of the bottle and to bepresented directly to the consumer for sipping purposes. Innon-carbonated beverages, this buoyant movement is due to the inherentproperties of the tube, while in carbonated beverages, the buoyancy 0fthe straw is increased` by the tendency of the gas bubbles tooling tothe straw and therefore accelerate its rapidity of movement upwardlythrough the neck of the bottle. lt is therefore possible by utilizing myimproved tube to furnish to each consumer a bottle which cru-ries inovel means by which said objects are effectuated will be denitelypointed out in the claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of a bottle of beverage showing myimproved drinking tube contained therein.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. l, but showing r the crown of thebottle removed and the drinking tube buoyed upwardly through the mouthof the bottle for use by the consumer.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view of the tube shown in Figs. 1 and2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective View showing one step in the method ofmanufacturing a strip for making f a spun or wrapped type of tube, thematerial of which the strip is composed being generally similar to thatemployed for the molded tube.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a partially completed tube formed byspinning the strip shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing a partially completed tube having amodified construction and formed by spinning a pair of strips.

One form which my improved drinking tube may take is that of a moldedstraw composed of materials that give body and strength to the tubestructure in conjunction with one or more other substances characterizedby a capacity for rapid evaporation when exposed to the air, this actionresulting in the formation of a multitude oi' gas cells in the wall ofthe tube which renders the same buoyant. One formula which I have foundsatisfactory for this purpose consists of. from to 80 per cent of anitrocellulose, such as pyroxylin, 1t to 50 per cent of a nitrocellulosesolvent, such as ether-alcohol, composed preferably of about three partsof ether and about one part of alcohol, acetone, methyl alcohol, ethylacetate,

methyl acetate, amyl acetate, or similar organic solvents having a lowboiling point and capable of dissolving or holding in suspension anynitrocellulose, 5 to 25 per cent of. ether, not over 25 per cent each ofwood flour or wood pulp, and not over 5 per cent of castor oil. Anyfinely ground cellulose may be substituted for the wood flour, whileeither camphor, linseed oil, rape seed oil, or-triacetine may besubstituted for the castor oil, since each of these substitutesdissolves readily ln the ether or the nitrocellulose solvent.

The particular percentages to be selected from the above noted rangesmay be adjusted as desired to meet the requirement of the moldingprocess, since changes in the various percentages affect the viscosityof the compound. For example, a tube molded from a compound comprisingpyroxylin 40 per cent, solvent 39 per cent, either 10 per cent, woodflour 10 per cent, and castor oil 1 per cent forms a straw that isextremely easy to mold, dries quickly and is very light and buoyant, butis not as resistant to the attacks of water as a compound comprising 40per cent of pyroxylin, per cent of the solvent, 10 per cent of the etherand 5 per cent of castor oil, the wood flour being omitted. A tubeformed according to the latter formula is buoyant, elastic andwaterproof, but dries very slowly and hence is difficult to mold.

I have ascertained that an extremely satisfactory drinking tube can bemade from a compound comprising 45 per cent of pyroxylin` 44 per cent ofthe solvent,'5 per cent of ether, 5 per cent oi wood flour and 1 percent of castor oil. The mixing of these several substances may beaccomplished in a water jacketed container having an air-tight cover andprovided with an agitator or paddle construction in order to secure athrough mixing of the several materials. During mixing, the temperatureshould be maintained as low as possible in order to avoid any excessiveevaporation of the solvent and ether, and extreme care must also betaken to avoid the creation of any electric sparks owing to theexplosive nature of the gas rising from theether.

The determined amounts of the nitrocellulose, solvent and castor oil arefirst placed in the mixing container and stirred until all of thenitrocellulose is completely mixed in the solvent. The wood flour orpulp is then added and the stirring continued until an even mixture isformed, whereupon the ether is poured into the foregoing mixture and thecomplete batch further stirred, but only long enough to thoroughlyincorporate the ether therewith. The entire batch which possesses amoldable consistency is then transferred to a mold adapted to form tubesand after extrusion from the mold, the tubes are exposed to theatmosphere, thus providing an opportunity for the solvent and the etherto evaporate. This action may be accelerated by the use of heat. Therapid evaporation of the ether, particularly, forms gas cells in themolded mass and it is the formation of these cells upon which primarydependence is placed to insure the buoyancy of the tube when placed in abeverage.

It is believed that there is no chemical reaction at any stage of themixing, since the solids apparently do not combine with the solvent andether, but are held in suspension until the evaporation of the solventand ether leaves a thoroughly incorporated solid having a multitude ofgas cells interspersed throughout the body thereof. It is contemplatedthat, under certain condi'- tions, it may be possible to eliminate theether and to depend upon the evaporation of the solvent to form the gascells. The solvent, however, evaporates much more slowly than does theether which somewhat delays the molding process. It

is also considered to be within the range of my invention to stimulatethe generation of the gas cells by mechanical means, such as byagitating the mixture very rapidly with a mechanical stirrer, or byintroducing compressed air into the mixture by means of jets, either ofthese actions trapping air in the mass and creating a cellular conditionwhich enhances the buoyancy of the tubes formed therefrom.

As an alternative method of making the molded tube, I have ascertainedthat certain economies in the amounts of material employed may beeffected by compounding the substances in a different manner. Forexample, if the nitrocellulose is permitted to absorb the solventinstead of mixing by stirring, it is possible to employ a considerablysmaller quantity of solvent. According to this method, the desiredquantity of nitrocellulose is placed in an air-tight vessel and aboutone-third of the solvent, according to the formula presently set forth,is then poured over the nitrocellulose, the vessel closed, and the totalmass permitted to stand for from four to eight hours. Upon thecompletion of this period, a

similar quantity of solvent is added and the mass again allowed to soakfor a like period, whereupon the final portion of the solvent is addedafter having first been mixed with the ether, castor oil and wood flour,if the latter is to be one of the ingredients. This total mass is thenallowed t soak in the vessel for several hours additional when thecomposition is ready for the mold. This method requires more time thanthat rst described, but its advantages consist in a reduction in theamount of solvent and a greater uniformity in the texture of the mass.

It has been ascertained that tubes having either of the followingcompositions are satisfactory when the various substances are associatedaccording to the method just described:

15 Percent Nitrocellulose 70 Acetone 25 Ether 4 Castor oil 1 PercentNitrocellulose 50 Wood flour 25 Acetone 35 Ether 4 `Castor oil 1 Cil Thefunction of the solvent and the ether in the compound has already beendiscussed. As for the remaining components, the pyroxylin imparts bodyand elasticity to the compound, the wood flour and pulp simply act asfillers, while the castor oil gives strength to the compound.

A tube made according to either of the fore-l r going methods isgenerally represented by the numeral I0 in Fig. 1. This tube is shown asbeing retained in a beverage filled bottle I I by the usual crown I2.buoyancy of the tube propels the same upwardly through the mouth of thebottle for convenient use by the consumer, and this natural buoyancy ofthe tube is further enhanced by the tendency, in the case of carbonatedbeverages, of the gas bubbles to cling to the exterior of the tube.

As a modification of the molded Itype of straw, I also propose to make adrinking tube composed of waterproofed paper which is spun on -thevmandrel of the customary straw spinning machine in the same manner as isnow performed for drinking straws or tubes composed of waxed paper. Thewaterproofing of the paper may be effected by passing the same through asuitable bath prior to reaching the spinning machine, and it is alsocontemplated that the waterproofing may be actually accomplished duringthe spinning process.

Some of the compounds which may be employed as waterproofing baths arepyroxylin which has been dissolved in a solution composed of one part ofethyl alcohol and three parts ether, acetone, or any other pyroxylinsolvent, or a 40 percent solution of zinc chloride, or a solutionconsisting of one part of zinc chloride and three parts of hydrochloricacid, or a solution consisting of 3 parts of copper oxide and 15 partsof ammonia. A tube of this type is not buoyant and it may be cut to alength somewhat greater than the internal height of the bottle. It isplaced in the bottle in a canted position with the lower end of the tubecontacting the bottom at one side of the bottle and the upper endresting against the opposite side within the neck. In this position, thetube does not interfere with the application of the crown and it iscapable of easy withdrawal by the fingers.

When this crown is removed, thev A tube made according to any of theforegoing methods, whether molded or spun, is suiciently flexible to beslightly bowed when pressed at its ends. This characteristic enablesdifferent length tubes to be made to satisfy different conditions.

For example, a molded tube which is buoyant may be cut to a length equalto or slightly less than the internal height of the bottle, so that whenthe crown is removed, a portion of the tube will be propelled upwardlythrough the neck of the bottle; or the same type of tube may be cutsomewhat longer and lt will therefore be slightly bowed when in place inthe bottle. The latter tube will present a longer portion above thebottle when the crown is removed.

In the case of the spun tube, it is contemplated that its length will begreater than the internal height of the bottle. This dimension isnecessary because of its lack of buoyancy so that dependence must beplaced upon the straightening of the tube when the crown is removed toproject a sufficient portion of the tube beyond the bottle neck forgrasping by the user.

A further type of spun tube is illustrated in Figs.` 4 and 5 and thestrip of which this tube is formed is characterized bygenerally the sameproperties as the tube IIJ. In making the former tube, approximately 20per cent of lnitrocellulose is mixed with approximately 78 per centofthe nitrocellulose solvent vand 2 per cent of castor oil until athorough mixture is obtained. This mixture is then spread or flowed on aglass, metal, or other smooth surface which is slightly heated andpreferably maintained at a temperature ranging from 120 to 160 F. Themixture so spread is then permitted to cool and is then cut up intostrips, such as I4, which is shown in Fig. 4 as being rested upon theglass or metal block I3.

The thin material made according to the foregoing method issubstantially transparent and incorporates a multitude of gas cells.This strip is then spun or wound in the usual manner and the successiveconvolutions of the strip are sealed to each other by utilizing asolution comprising about 3 per cent of nitrocellulose and 91 per centether-alcohol. The finished tube I5 'may be used in the manner generallyindicated in Figs. 1 and 2 and it possesses the same characteristic ofbuoyancy.

A similar spun tube, but lacking the property of buoyancy, can be madeby thoroughly mixingrfrom 20 to 50 per cent nitrocellulose, 8O to 5U percent of the nitrocellulose solvent and 1 to 2 per cent of the castor oiland then flowingthis mixture. on a smooth surface having a temperatureof about 70 F. After hardening this material is cut to form stripssimilar to the strip I4 and is then spun or wound to make the nishedtube, using the sealing solution noted above. Althoughv the last notedtube is not inherently buoyant, the bubbles released in a carbonated-beverage when the sealing crown is removed will, except when thebeverage is very cold, impart suffcient buoyancy to the tube to place itwithin easy reach of the consumer.

In Fig. 6 is illustrated a modied spun tube I6 which is formed byspinning a pair of strips I4 which are related as shown, so that theouter strip is symmetrically disposed with reference to and covers thespiral seam formed as the inner strip is wound. The tube thus formed ischaracterized by a. double wall thickness and the strips may be cementedtogether by the sealing solution described above. Moreover, this tubecan be made inherently buoyant, or not, as desired,

2. A moulded drinking tube comprising pyi'oxylin, a ller such as aground wood, and castor oil, and including sufficient; gas cells torender the tube buoyant when immersed in a liquid.

HENRY N. CORRELL.

